Food and Hot Meal Distribution, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
Just hours after the Tsunami struck India, BAPS had rushed emergency aid immediately.
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A relief kitchen was set up on the East Coast Road to serve freshly cooked hot meals to the homeless. For 37 days, BAPS served over 5000 hot meals a day!
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Item distributed Qty.
Hot meals served 174,000
Food packets 12,000
Rice 26 tonnes
Dal 16 tonnes
Sooji 4 tonnes
BAPS catered hot meals as per the requirements of the local Tsunami affected victims. A special menu was designed that offered not only tasty, fresh, nutritious, wholesome and hot meals but also a variety of dishes like Pongal, Sambhar, Khichdi, Uppma, Immali Rice and Basibela.
Drinking Water
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On 26 and 27 December 2004, BAPS distributed 2000 litres of mineral water in the coastal areas devastated by the tsunami.
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3 tube wells were installed with hand pumps to provide constant fresh drinking water in 3 villages: Nemmelikuppam, Padhu Kalpakkam and Sulerikadukuppam.
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4 storage tanks to store fresh drinking water were installed in 4 villages: Pattipullam Kuppam, Sulerikadukuppam, Nemmelikuppam and Padhu Kalpakkam.
Medical Camp
To detect early symptoms of cholera, malaria, typhoid and other tropical diseases together with dehydration and other medical problems, BAPS organised a unique paediatric medical check-up camp on 13 January at a high school in the village of Nemmeli (District Kancheepuram).
A BAPS team of 24 doctors, nurses and medical specialists in the field of general and tropical diseases examined a total of 508 children from 22 devastated villages. Medicines were also provided.
Household Items Distributed
Household kits were provided to 4,316 homeless families.
Each Kit Contained:
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1 tarpaulin (18’x12’) |
2 steel dishes |
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2 bed sheets |
2 steel glasses |
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1 plastic water pot |
1 sari |
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1 cooking stove |
1 lungi |
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1 Indian frying pan |
2 coir floor mats |
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1 plastic bucket & mug |
1 torch |
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1 serving spoon |
toothbrushes |
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aluminium andi (bucket) |
toothpaste |
Educational Assistance
The coastal homes were either destroyed or completely washed out. Children and college students had lost all their study books. With schools reopening, BAPS extended help to students of all ages from kindergarten to college by providing the following educational material.
Educational Material Distributed:
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Item Description
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Qty.
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Note Books
(half, full, ruled and unruled) |
11,000 |
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School Bags |
460 |
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Pen, Pencil, Eraser, Ruler sets |
841 |
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Compass Boxes |
287 |
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Plastic Pencil Cases |
173 |
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Slates |
37 |
Counselling & Restoring Dignity
The villages devastated by the tsunami are all located on the coast. The emotional traumas were enormous. Thousands of victims were given physical aid by BAPS, but an even larger number are given psychological and emotional counselling by BAPS volunteers (both men and women) to help cope with post-traumatic stress and extreme fear of the ocean. Slowly, many are recovering from the mental shock of the disaster and returning to their normal routine life. Smiles are reappearing on the faces of the children again.